Comfort, in the Arms of a Lover
by ChasingGhosts
Summary: “Come on Troy, you can tell me what’s wrong,” she prompted. “...Is the Wildcat superstar afraid?” She teased with a cheeky grin. We all get freaked out sometimes, even Troy. Troy&Gabriella Oneshot.


**Disclaimer:** Yeah, I wish I owned HSM and some other parts of Disney. Don't sue! I'll only grumble at having to give up my DVD's and CD's before I kick you where it hurts and run…

**Author's Note**: I wanted to switch it up a little, and see Gabriella comforting Troy, instead of Troy playing the Knight in Shining Armor for his gorgeous damsel. So let's see how this goes…

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Slowly, the blue eyed boy walked up the cool metal staircase, the sound of his footsteps echoing around him as he reached his destination. Standing on the rooftop for what would probably be the last time, Troy took a deep breath, trying to let the finality of it all sink in.

Ever so slowly Troy walked around the rooftop towards the picnic table in the corner, taking his time to look at all the flowers and pots that were scattered around, trying to take note of all the things he hadn't noticed before; all the things that had kept him company for so many hours. A strong gush of wind blew, knocking the odd looking hat off his head, quickly he chased the hat to his destination, catching it before it could blow any further, and there he sat, looking out over the rooftop.

Troy gazed out over the school grounds, the memories he held from each place filling his mind. The basketball courts where he and the team and spent so many afternoons, running and sweating on. The fountain that he'd accidentally fallen into on his very first day at East High, and the mortification he felt when the incident happened. The bus stop at the front of the school, where Gabriella would be waiting for him at the end of school, before they walked home together.

He continued to take note of all the places around the school his eye could catch, and smiled fondly at the memories each place brought. Looking out beyond the school grounds, he gazed at the vast expanse of greenery in the distance, and trying to soak it all in. Trying to remember every little detail. Trying to mentally take a snap shot of its beauty in his mind, storing it to remember at a later date.

Below him he could hear the voices hundreds of his fellow classmates; cheering, crying, celebrating, this momentous day. He knew he should have been down there with them, doing the same, but he just didn't feel up to it at the moment.

Troy didn't get it. This was a huge day. A day he'd been looking forward to for years; his last day of high school.

And yet, when the day had finally come, instead of feeling excitement as he thought he would, he only felt anxiety and sadness_. This is it. It's all over. The end of high school. To end of an era. The end of childhood, and the welcoming to adulthood. From here on in, it's not a few hours of detention with Darbus if I screw up. _He sighed, closing his eyes.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been up there thinking and reminiscing before he heard the door to the roof top open; followed by a pair of footsteps. And without turning around he immediately knew it was her. The footsteps grew closer, pausing once they reached him, and then pair of soft hands were rubbing slow circles comfortingly on the back, whilst the person sat down beside him.

Gabriella sat down beside her boyfriend, and looked out into the open, still not saying a word, at ease with their silence. She sighed, noticing that the view was still as pretty as it was the first time she saw it. Closing her eyes, she smiled as she remembered that day. Troy had left a note in her locker, inviting her up to the roof top, his private hideout, now _their_ private hideout. And from then on, they'd had a special friendship, an indescribable connection. Just like kindergarten, she remembered fondly.

That day now seemed like light years ago.

Finally opening her eyes, she turned to the boy beside her, and gently nudged him with her shoulder, giving him a cute grin as he looked over in her direction for the first time since she'd gotten there. "Hey," she said simply, receiving only a small smile in reply. "I was looking for you down there, the whole gang was. I should have known that you'd be up here."

When he didn't say anything in return, she tried again, "So what's up? You've been awfully quiet today."

He sighed, if he was going to tell anyone how he felt, then it was going to be her. She would understand, she always understood. "Everything is going to change isn't it?" He paused, "After today, it'll all be different," he finished off, looking out into the horizon once again.

She didn't question him on what he was referring to, just as he'd expected. "Probably," she said simply," deciding it was probably better to just be frank and upfront to him about, sugar coating the truth never helped anyone. "But you know, just because things are going to change, it doesn't necessarily mean it'll be a bad thing," she continued.

He looked at her incredulously. "I'm not quite sure how going to different colleges than most of my friends is not a bad thing," he replied, sulking a little more. He wasn't entirely sure he liked this blunt Gabriella.

Gabriella had to stifle back a giggle, he just looked so darn cute all pout-y, but now wasn't the time for that. "Hey now, you'll still have me," she responded sweetly, reaching out her hand, and placing it his leg affectionately, trying to comfort him. "And Jason, Kelsi and Taylor, and the other guys really aren't going to be that far away. You'll still see them."

He looked down at her hand, clearly still not convinced. "I know, but it won't be the same," he responded stubbornly, huffing slightly as he did so.

"Well things can't stay like they are now forever you know?" She said sympathetically, now rubbing small circles on his leg with her thumb.

Troy sighed, a pout still evident on his face, "I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."

Both were quiet for a little while, Gabriella in thought of ways as to how she could get her boyfriend back to his old usual self. She found is completely unsettling to see Troy without his classic boyish grin plastered across his face.

Meanwhile, Troy just kept thinking of all the things he'd miss. "I'm going to miss coming to school every morning and watching as Chad scrambles to his locker, late every morning, only to get yelled at by Taylor later for not setting his alarm earlier. And Jason and Ryan teasing Chad about being whipped later. And Zeke's cookies. All Ryan's damn colorful hats."

He sighed again, "Hell, I'll even miss seeing Sharpay walk around the school like she owns it, dawned in her hideously sparkly outfits."

Gabriella looked over at Troy, now like Troy becoming all nostalgic, as he mentioned all the things that they'd no longer experience everyday. _Think, Gabriella, think! You've got to snap him out of this. It's our last day! He can't spend it cooped up here all day. _

"Come on Troy, you can tell me what's wrong," she prompted, nudging him again. And then she had an idea, if he was going to sit here reminiscing, well then she'd give him a flashback. "Is the Wildcat superstar afraid?" She teased with a cheeky grin playing on her face. Trying to lighten the mood, she echoed the exact words she had said to him a few years ago.

Troy let out a soft chuckle as he remembered, and replied exactly how he did then, "No! No, I'm not afraid, I-I'm just," a short pause, "scared."

Gabriella let out a laugh, remembering the day they'd spoken those words. "You did know that scared and afraid mean pretty much the same thing right?" She asked in amusement.

He rolled his eyes playfully at her, "_Yes_," he replied, drawing out the word.

"Oh good, I'd hate to prove Taylor right, and have to tell her that you were a "Lunkhead Basketball Man," she said playfully, nudging him again. Then suddenly she dropped her playful demeanour, "So are you finally going to tell me what's wrong, Wildcat?" Hoping that after that, he'd finally tell her what was really on his mind.

Troy let out a long sigh, and looked everywhere besides where Gabriella was. _It's just Gabriella. Just tell her already. She'll understand._ "Okay, this is going to sound really stupid and lame and probably really selfish too," out of the corner of his eye he could see her gave him a short nod, urging him to continue. "It's just we're going to college, and we're going to be freshmen, these nobody's that no one knows, and we're going to have to start all over again," he finished, dejectedly.

Gabriella looked at him knowingly, then added, "And you're going to miss being the Wildcat superstar?" her voice tentative.

For a moment Troy didn't say anything. "… Yeah," his voice low, as if afraid that if he said it too loudly then it would make him seem self absorbed. "That's bad huh?"

She smiled at him, "Nah, it's completely normal. Everyone likes to feel on top, and senior year of high school is as good as it's going to get for a while."

He looked at her a little surprised, "Are you sure?" he questioned curiously. "Cause I feel horrible. For years I just wanted to be anything but the Basketball Guy and when you came along I got a taste of what that was like. And now we're going off to college, and this is my chance to finally break free from it all, and start new. But now that I can actually do it, I don't want to," he explained fully.

Gabriella wasn't too sure what to say to that. She thought for a moment, and then carefully said, "Well that seems fair enough. There's nothing wrong with it. You spent years being the basketball go to guy, its okay to be freaked out at something new."

"And anyway, I'll be right there beside you if anything goes wrong," she added as an afterthought. "You'll always have me."

Troy considered this for a while before nodding, accepting what she had said. He looked over at her, really smiling for the first time since he'd gotten up there, "You always know what to do to make me feel better," he said wrapping his arm around her shoulder.

"Well, what can I say? It's a talent," she said cheekily, poking out her tongue at him in the process.

He grinned at her, and then looked at her questioningly asking her, "How it is that you don't seem nervous, or scared, or anything like that, right now?" giving her a gentle nudge in the shoulder as he did so.

She gave a short laugh, her eyes gleaming in the sunlight, "You're kidding right? I'm just as freaked out as you are. I'm just postponing my freak out until it's really time to freak out. Right before we leave for college? That's when it'll all hit me."

He had to laugh at her response, leave it to Gabriella to put everyone else's needs before her own, _good old Gabriella_. "So how come you aren't freaking out now?" His voice soft and curious.

She looked him in the eye, and then out into the distance, as if trying to figure it all for herself before she gave him an answer. "I'm not too sure exactly," she paused, still trying to find an answer, and then turned in his direction again. "I guess, I'm just trying to make the most of it now while it lasts you know?" she shrugged before continuing.

"Before I came to East High, my mom and I moved around a lot, so I never really got to stay at a school long enough to make any real friends, so I got used to all the changes. And if we did miraculously stay very long, all they saw me as, was that "Freaky Math Girl." And then I came here, and I was just _me_, you know?" She looked up at him as he nodded.

"I suppose I just want to keep everything as normal as possible, for as long as I can. That way it'll last longer." She gave a shrug as she finished off, trying not to make a big deal of it.

Troy looked at her in amazement, as she stared off into the distance. _How is it that Gabi is so okay with it, when she has more reason than me not to be? I swear that girl gets even more amazing with every day._ Neither of the two said anything for a moment, until Troy suddenly broke the silence. "I love you, you know that?" Gabriella looked up at him quizzically, before bursting out laughing.

After her laughing subsided, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips before she replied, "Well I love you too, but random much?"

He grinned at her, "Well, you can never say those three words too often," he said winking at her. "But no. You just put it all into perspective for me. I mean, there's no point sitting up here wasting time moping. I should be down there with the rest of the gang, celebrating all that we've done, spending time with them, before we all go." He leaned towards her, captured her face in between his hands and kissed her full on the lips, slowly, trying to convey his thanks through his actions. Thanks for being there for him. For saying all the right things. For just being her.

Gabriella grinned into the kiss, responding eagerly, moving her hands to his shoulders and into his hair, threading her fingers through it. After a few minutes she pulled back just enough so that she could rest her forehead against his. Neither said a word, both trying to catch their breaths, Troy's breath tickling Gabriela's neck just slightly; he was so close. She looked her brown eyes into his bright blue ones, and smiled, content with everything for the moment. They stayed like that for a little while, just staring at each other, until Troy's gaze became too much for Gabriella, and she had to bite the side of her lip and look away in an attempt to avert her mind away from the butterflies in her stomach.

Troy pulled back completely, grabbed her hand, and made a move to get up. "Okay, I'm done with all this moping, let's go!" He got half way up until he noticed that Gabriella was still sitting down. "Gabi? Com' on, lets get up and go!"

Gabriella tugged his hand that was holding hers, "No, wait a second. Let's just sit here for a little while longer," she said, her eyes pleading with his.

He rolled his eyes playfully; she knew that he could never resist those eyes. "Okay, okay, but only for a little while." Gabriella laughed at his complete change in attitude from only minutes ago. "Don't tell me that this moping is contagious though. I haven't spread the disease to you instead, have I?"

She grinned at him. "No, I just want to sit here for a bit. We spent so much time up here over the last few years; I just want a moment to remember it all."

"Ah, good times," Troy responded, smiling widely at the memories that came flooding back into his mind. "Well I'm sure the gang won't miss us if we're gone for just a little while more." Then he sat back down, pulling Gabriella closer to him.

Gabriella snuggled into Troy's body, loving the feeling of his body close to hers. She looked out over the rooftop, "I'm going to miss this place," she said fondly.

Troy looked down at her face, and smiled, knowing that even though they would be moving onto bigger and better things, everything would be okay.

"Yeah, me too."

_-End._

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**Author's Note**: And yet another one-shot from me. LOL. I've been meaning to write this one for a while, but whenever I sat down to write it, the words never came. It didn't end up at all how I planned, but I'll go with it.

What did you guys think of it? Good? Bad? Horrible? Well just push the little button next to "Submit review" and let me know! Constructive criticism is loved; it does actually help me out a lot.

In other news, I've been attempting, with great difficulty, I might add, to write some sort of a multi-chapter fic. Still trying to weed out the details before I sit down and write that one, but we'll see how that goes. Otherwise you may just be seeing a lot more one-shots from me. Haha.


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